To think hair not a form of protection is laughable to me.Originally Posted by S_B
My face is a lot more protected with a beard than without.
There is also a sense of irritation, and extra sensitivity right after a shave, that I do not have with a growth of beard.
Jack
Jack I would not dispute that with you, sure coarse beard hair will offer much protection for your face. Our dog's hair would be more comparable in my mind to our head, arm or leg hair.
Shaving a dog down as I've witnessed was not with a razor blade, but with a guard on an electric razor. Like when a dog is prepared for surgery, a vet shaves the hair (they do use a razor on the belly tho) I'm not sure which # guard but if I remember correctly it is a 10 which leaves a stubble.
S_B
I can't see the benefit but that's just me. If hair weighs a couple of ounces, (which I think might be a stretch but I have never weighed hair, or weighed a dog pre- then post- shave. So for that my knowledge is limited). Since lots of people use digital scales now maybe a couple three ounces can be helpful in making weight. I will admit last Feb. we saw one pay the forfeit at 39.1 and maybe a good haircut prevents that from happening. When they did the dogs anyway I can't see where there was a bunch of difference between the 38.9 and the 39.1. (Did I say I dislike digital scales?, but that is a different topic altogether)
In one of my very first posts I made a point and I will make it again here. If a guy shaved his dog and he won then odds are he will shave the next one, even if it had little to do with the good performance. If he wins again with a shaved dog then he has developed his way. Let him teach that way to another and if the other wins then you would be hard pressed to convince them otherwise.
I made the point about feed, if a guy is winning feeding corn flakes and cabbage, anyone, board members included, will have a hard time convincing him otherwise.
EWO
Perfectly said EWO, it is a strategy that a handler/conditioner come up with that they feel gives them a slight edge because of exactly what you just said.
I spoke with a fellow bulldogger who is a dog groomer and asked how much hair would weigh if a bulldog was shaved. She guessed 1/2 lb, I asked her if she ever had a reason to weigh hair and she said a pyrenees was shaved and they weighed out 10 pounds of hair.
She said she would shave one and document the weight with pictures, so I'll share that when it becomes available.
S_B
No disrespect, but this also shows a lack of understanding of absolutely everything also.
For starters, Great Pyrenees are NOT fighting dogs, and secondly they have an assload of hair compared to bulldogs.
And finally, even if we go with this exaggeration and use the 4x standard, it still doesn't mean shit.
The weight range of the Great Pyrenees breed spans 85 to 160 lb.
If we use the 4x standard, that would be equivalent to comparing massive human sumo wrestlers, ranging between 340 lb to 640 lb (which is 4x 85 and 160 lb, respectively).
At this proportionally-enormous size, 40 lb still doesn't mean shit.
Are you trying to keep a straight face and say a 500 lb guy has an "advantage" over a 460 lb guy?
And, again, this ratio involves the hair-shavings of a breed which has hair MUCH longer & thicker than that of the pit bull breed.
(If we were using an 85-160 lb pit bull, the difference would be maybe 1-2 lb of hair, which would translate to a 4-8 lb difference in a 340-640 lb massive sumo wrestler.)
So not only is the comparison invalid, 10 lb of hair from a massive Great Pyrenees is at least double/triple what pit bull hair would yield from that big of a bulldog. So, again, when we perform these reality checks, at the end of the day, when the PROVEN proportions are used, it still doesn't mean shit.
Well, her documentation of "bulldog hair" should also mention the weight of the dog being shaved.
It will be interesting, anecdotally, but I guarantee the results will still spell NEGLIGIBLE when all is said and done.
Jack
Jack thanks for clearing that up about the Great Pyrenees, that could have been messy...
Just having fun, I used the breed to illustrate a significant weight of hair being shaved off a dog. I was shocked at the amount honestly. But I'm sure dirt and mats figured into that as well.
This has been an interesting topic to say the least. I for one don't care if you nip, tuck, shave or dye your charge to gain an advantage it makes things interesting and gives us something to discuss here.
S_B
shaving for weight purposes unless opponent is whining about 20 gram overweight is plane ridiculous imo
I doubt very seriously the weight of shaved hair would be any real difference in two GrCh Bucks with identical keeps at the identical weight. The winner would be the one smart enough to pick up before the two identical dogs killed one another.
The shaved hair make a difference in a forfeit call if using digital skills. That is all I see.
When two dogs are within a pound or so of one another there is no rule that the heavier one is the bigger dog, just the heavier dog. Many a time dogs have pushed weight yet been the bigger dog. Sometimes pushing weight is not as big a deal as it is made out to be. Don't get me wrong I'm not for giving weight but I have seen the 'bigger' dog whoop the 'heavier' dog based on size and leverage, and most of the time just being the better dog.
EWO
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